Lenzing revenues up in Q1, foresees signs of recovery

Revenues at Lenzing increased by 1.3 percent in the first quarter compared to the prior-year quarter to 623.1 million euros.

The company said in a statement that the growth was primarily due to higher pulp revenues, while fibre revenues were down. As a consequence, EBITDA decreased by 66.2 percent to 29.7 million euros in the first quarter of 2023.

The net result for the reporting period amounted to minus 64.9 million euros compared with 34.1 million euros in the first quarter of 2022 and earnings per share amounted to minus 3.03 euros compared with 0.87 euros in the same quarter of 2022.

Lenzing launched a reorganisation and cost-cutting program in the third quarter of 2022 and expects over 70 million euros in annual cost savings once the program has been fully implemented.

“After the crisis year of 2022, the negative after-effects were still clearly evident in the first quarter of 2023,” said Stephan Sielaff, Lenzing Group CEO, adding, “In the medium and long term, we continue to anticipate a strong growth in demand for Lenzing’s sustainable products. We are convinced that our two investment projects in China and Indonesia will further strengthen our positioning in this respect.”

Lenzing also recently announced personnel changes on its managing board. Robert van de Kerkhof, chief commercial officer fibre and a managing board member since 2014 has decided not to extend his contract, which runs until December 31, 2023. The company added that he will continue to drive forward the sustainability area, including the carbon roadmap, as chief sustainability officer until the end of his current term of office.

CEO Stephan Sielaff will essentially assume responsibility for sales in the fibres division. The Lenzing managing board will thereby be reduced from four to three members as of January 1, 2024.

Lenzing continues to anticipate growth in demand for environmentally responsible fibres for the textile and clothing industry as well as for the hygiene and medical sectors. The company expects the implementation of the key projects in Thailand and Brazil as well as the investment projects in China and Indonesia will further strengthen Lenzing’s positioning. The Lenzing Group continues to expect EBITDA in a range between 320 million euros and 420 million euros for 2023.